How to Use Brand Pillars for Better Marketing

Your association has a lot of resources. So many, in fact, that it’s almost impossible for a prospect to quickly see how they might benefit from joining. If they can’t grasp the value of membership at a glance, they won’t join—and they probably won’t ever come back again to kick your tires. 

Keep It Simple

The solution is to simplify. Determine three or four categories that all your offerings fit into. We call these categories “brand pillars” because they are the structure that holds up your entire organization. Brand pillars explain very briefly what your association offers and why it’s a good idea to sign up and pay money for it all. 

Ideally, you should be able to state the essence of your organization in just a few words and bullet points that fit on one side of one page. If this sounds impossible, then this article is definitely for you.

Don’t Water Down Your Brand

What’s the alternative to brand pillars? Too much of everything. Think about Cheerios. There used to be one kind of Cheerios in a familiar yellow box. Then they kept adding and adding…and adding. The brand grew to 16 different varieties of basically the same cereal. Rather than increasing sales and brand loyalty, Cheerios experienced a decline in both areas. Their brand became watered down with too many choices, and their customers got lost in the clutter. To turn things around, Cheerios eventually moved toward a less complex brand with fewer options.

Take a lesson from Cheerios! Don’t water down your brand and your organization with too many offerings. Determine your core brand pillars. Don’t try to cover every aspect of your association in your marketing. The same goes for your communications. Don’t send so many emails that people get lost along the customer journey. Focus on one event, one report, one helpful resource.

How to Streamline

We can hear you saying, “But how can we possibly narrow our entire organization to three or four short ideas!?” It’s easier than you might think. First, listen to your members. Let them tell you what they need in surveys and focus groups. Look at your data to determine behaviors and preferences. Cut anything that’s not working. Clean up anything that can be improved. Test and track so you know exactly what works and what doesn’t.

Stop Making Noise

Your brand pillars are a bit like a resume—their job is to pique interest, get attention, and hint at your credibility as an organization. Prospects can then ask for an in-depth “interview” to learn more, meet your team, explore your offerings, and join. From there, it’s your job to nurture members one meaningful resource at a time to drive retention and renewals. You can’t—and shouldn’t—do everything at once or you’re just making noise.

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